information seeking behavior of national minorities’ secondary school students for scientific...
DESCRIPTION
Internet in Latvia (a country in the Baltic region) became available for the wider public in the beginning of the 21st century. Online news, reference type information and social networks are everyday life necessities of modern individuals in Latvia. Current Latvian schoolchildren were born and raised in the Internet era, and these children are potential researchers. That is why it is so important to understand how modern schoolchildren conduct complex information searching processes for research purposes, what skills they possess, what problems they face and if they use library products and services. The case study was made in April, 2012 with the purpose of determining national minority secondary school students’ information seeking behaviour during the scientific research process: what information channels and resources they use and in what language this information is. Carol Collier Kuhlthau’s model of Information Search Process was chosen as a theoretical framework for this study. Complete study includes the results of six interviews with the schoolchildren who are doing their research on different IT topics and the results of the questionnaire completed by 119 secondary school students who did their research projects on different topics. This case study consists of the key findings from the interviews, and these interviews have revealed that schoolchildren pay great attention to the information search process. Full paper: http://library.ifla.org/69/TRANSCRIPT
Viktorija MoskinaInformation seeking behaviour of national
minorities’ secondary school students for scientific research purposes
Republic of Latvia
Established in 1918Member state of the EU
Libraries & Internet connection
Bill and Melinda Gates foundation grant Latest IT tools and free Internet access
Case study
Master’s thesis, year 2012
Six interviews with secondary school students
Theoretical framework - Carol Collier Kuhlthau’s model of Information Search Process
Initiation Selection Exploration Formulation Collection Presentation Assessment
Feelings(affective)
Uncertainty Optimism Confusion, frustration, doubt
Clarity Sense of direction/ confidence
Satisfaction or disappointment
Sense of accomplishment
Thoughts (cognitive)
vague
focused increased interest
Increased self-awareness
Actions (physical)
seeking
relevantExploring
information
seeking
pertinentDocumenting
information
Place
Riga Classical Gymnasium Language learningScientific research subject
Research question
1How secondary school students are searching and selecting information resources for scientific research purposes?
Information search process description
Research question
2What information channels secondary school students use for scientific research purposes; what information resources are selected, and in what language are these information resources?
“Internet. There is easier to find; easier than delving into books. Of course, in the books you can find more useful information, but on the Internet everything is at hand.”
“I use libraries, but in the beginning [of the information search process] – Internet. Internet helps to outline the objectives. Internet helps to refine research objectives, and for further nuances I am visiting libraries.”
Research question
3Do secondary school students use products and services of the school library and/ or other Latvian libraries for scientific research purposes?
“The library is a richer source of information than any search engine. I believe that library is something more ...”
“Once a month I am going to the library to verify the information that I have gathered.”
“The great role, because I went to the library, opened the book on […] and started to read. I did not find such information on the Internet.”
Research question
4What are the criteria for evaluation of the information resources?
Most respondents avoid anonymous information resources.
They also try to avoid unpopular publishers or websites.
Reposts or information without references seems doubtful to them.
Complex information, resources with a large amount of text and terms, as well as texts with a low amount of content are excluded for effort minimization.
Research question
5What secondary school students feel in the beginning and in the end of the information search process?
“[...] an element of uncertainty still remains, because it is always possible to learn something new today or tomorrow; something that will lead me to the new ideas, encourage to reconsider some aspects of the research and to modify my paper.”
“New information appears every day, so I cannot find everything. A week ago I read one resource and now I have found another. Information will complement and supplement. It is the Internet!”
Conclusions
Students’ ISP Model
